Data management is an important aspect of the overall management of a computing environment. This is particularly true in those environments that support replicated data.
Replicated data enables an environment to be configured for disaster recovery. In such a configuration, data on a primary site is replicated to a secondary site and is available for use should the primary site become unavailable.
To be able to use the secondary site, it is imperative that the data at that site be appropriate for application access. Currently, there are various facilities used to manage the data at replicated sites, including Peer-to-Peer Remote Copy (PPRC) and the enterprise Remote Copy Management Facility (eRCMF) offered by International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. These facilities, however, require substantial human intervention. Thus, they are incapable of satisfying stringent recovery time objectives of many modern business enterprises.
Based on the foregoing, a need exists for a data management facility that is automated. In one particular example, a need exists for a data management facility capable of automatically managing replicated storage media.